Armory Sponsor
Posted: 8/28/2010 10:58:56 AM EDT
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I am looking for some shrubs that will grow up to five six feet with sharp long thorns to keep unwanted people and animals out?
Any suggestions |
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LOL, if you lived in Oregon it wouldn't be a problem = Blackberry bushes + poison oak our state bush
If you what something thick/fast growing w/o thorns try bamboo. how about rose bushes, let then grow wild. why not just install a tall chainlink fence topped off with barbed wire? CMU wall with broken bottles on top of the last course? Sorry not much help, nothing comes to my mind. Stop by your local bookstore / library and look in the landscapeing/garden section. there is a bush in Africa that is real nasty, but I don't know the name of know if available here in the US quick Google: Euphorbia milii (crown-of-thorns) is a native of Madagascar and does have lots of thorns on its stems but it only grows to about 3 feet high. Also, I doubt it would survive Pennsylvania winters since it is hardy to USDA Hardiness Zones 8 to 11 and Pennsylvania Hardiness Zones are mainly 5 and 6. Here are possibilities for native Pennsylvania shrubs with thorns: Crataegus phaenopyrum (Washinton hawthorn) Crataegus flava (yellowleaf howthorne) and: Q. Can you recommend a thorny shrub that is not too dense but will keep people from cutting through our property? I was thinking about using pyracantha or crown of thorns. We live in Port St. Lucie. A. Pyracantha is a tall shrub that grows about three to four feet a year and can reach 15 feet. It is thorny and has small white flowers and red or orange fruit. Pyracantha is normally not too dense. The crown of thorns is a slow grower (6 inches to1 foot a year). It reaches 5 feet in the standard form and about 2 feet in dwarf forms. It is cold sensitive and could easily freeze at Port St. Lucie particularly if you are west of I-95. It does fairly well on the coast to Vero Beach. The tall form is leggy and has flowers and tufts of foliage at the branch tips. The dwarf form is denser, but at 2 feet is not very practical because all the flowers occur at the branch tips. If you prune it regularly to make it denser, you cut off all the blooms. Thorns can mean lawsuits if you place these plants too close to sidewalks, roads, etc. where people pass. My own choice for a somewhat thorny hedge for your area is silverthorn (Elaeagnus pungens). Spaced about 2 ½ feet apart they grow quickly into a nice tight hedge. In the fall, the plant has small white flowers that are very fragrant. Give it plenty of room. If left alone it can reach 10 feet across and 10 to 12 feet tall. It is naturally dense growing. The fast rate of growth means pruning fairly often. Silverthorn is drought and salt tolerant. Keep grass away from the base of your hedges and trees. I have seen too many plants girdled by the weed trimmer and killed. |
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Knockout Roses are good in zones 5-10 and be had at Lowes or Home Depot. http://www.conard-pyle.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/koplants.plantDetail/plant_id/592/index.htm ETA: They grow VERY fast so unless you really need the more epensive bigger ones I would pass. I bought them as a root start and in 15 months they were 24"x24" |
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Lighting is more effective than relying on bushes. It will likely stop an opportunistic criminal.
However, if someone wants to enter, they can throw a heavy dropcloth on them. Lighting alerts neighbors. If you are still concerned, consider a camera system. Inexpensive DIY systems are out there with internet access and offloading to disk or usb for police evidence. |
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Also in KY. I can tell you Pyracantha and wild rose (multaflora rose) are nothing you want to crawl through and thrive in KY.
Barberry can be painful but they are lower and not as brutal when you grab one. You could also look at honey locust trees. If you topped them low, they would make a bush. They have big nasty thorns. |
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Quoted:
Lighting is more effective than relying on bushes. It will likely stop an opportunistic criminal. However, if someone wants to enter, they can throw a heavy dropcloth on them. Lighting alerts neighbors. If you are still concerned, consider a camera system. Inexpensive DIY systems are out there with internet access and offloading to disk or usb for police evidence. and iff you go with extra lighting I would go with motion activated lights if the situation alllows. constant lighting is not bad but motion activated is MUCH better. |
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